Decks have been cleared for the unanimous election of senior YSR Congress party leader and former minister Botsa Satyanarayana as the member of Andhra Pradesh state legislative council (MLC).
As the Telugu Desam Party and its alliance partners of the BJP and the Jana Sena Party opted out of the contest, there was only one more contender for the MLC seat – an independent candidate Sheik Shafiqullah alias Shafi, who also filed his nomination papers on Monday.
The last date for withdrawal of nominations is August 16, but Shafi withdrew his papers on Wednesday itself. As a result, only Botsa remained in the race and as such, there is no need for any polling on August 30.
In all probability, the returning officer will declare the name of Botsa as elected to the legislative council on Saturday.
The unanimous election of Botsa is a sort of morale booster for YSRCP president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, as there would be strong voice for the party both in the legislative council as well as outside.
Secondly, there is every possibility that Jagan might nominate Botsa as the leader of opposition in the legislative council and that would fetch him the cabinet rank with all the facilities. This will give more strength to Botsa to launch an offensive against the Naidu government.
Thirdly, Botsa is expected to come to the party office at Tadepalli regularly and being a seasoned leader, Jagan will make use of his services to strengthen the party organisation at all levels, sources said.
